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Working at top speed not to be left behind

Walking around Facebook’s offices you sense that many things are being developed and created here, all at a rapid pace

Murad Ahmed

November 15 2011, 12:01am, The Times

A single word can be seen repeatedly throughout Facebook’s headquarters in Palo Alto, California. It is emblazoned on the nondescript entrance to the offices: “Hack”.

When the social network’s employees use the word they do not mean breaking into the computer system of another organisation. Instead, as one Facebook executive has explained, it stands for “building things, efficiently and quickly”.

Walking around Facebook’s offices you sense that many things are being developed and created here, all at a rapid pace.

Unlike other Silicon Valley companies’ buildings — notably Google, whose headquarters are a few miles down the road in Mountain View — there are few distractions in this workplace. The place is not stuffed with table tennis or pool tables. Instead, motivational posters are everywhere. They say…